Only one problem with the idea of running old trucks and the thought of all these mechanical Tier 1's
which are already 30 years old running 30 plus years from now.
#1 engine, transmission and drive axle parts. There are only so many cores that are rebuildable now.
Most requiring very major machine work as a last ditch effort to save a block. Cummins stopped supporting
the old 855's, Cummins doesn't want to continue to support engines 30 years old, they want to sell new.
It's not good for their business to keep selling old, outdated parts plus keep a large inventory of it.
Same with Cat. Cat will cut the cord also.
#2 and not related to construction business. If you looked at how many miles that are stacked on a
highway truck today compared to years back, these new trucks way out perform the old. In the early
90's if a truck saw 120K a year that was thought of as a lot. We've got drivers that run 160,000 a year plus.
In 4 years that truck is traded off.
#3 Fuel mileage, There isn't a tier 1 or tier 2 engine with manual transmission out there that can compete
with todays tier 4. We gross 100,000 running to Denver, Fargo, Seattle and Portland area south plus Tacoma
to Kalispell constantly like every day. All in mountainous region. The best any C-15 at 550hp or Series 60 at
550hp both at 1850 torque would ever get on a average in our fleet was 4.9.
The DD15's we have now average 6.2 with a DT12 automated transmission. There is no way in hell you
can find a driver that can compete with the perfect shift points/rpm that a computer can, the computer
doesn't waste fuel. Shifts faster, smoother and easier on drive train. Ever since we went to AMT
transmissions--------we haven't lost one U-Joint, only lost one rear drive and that was covered on warranty.
But the air disc brakes those are a problem. Because people don't understand the learning curve involved with
driving a AMT. Only a few do. The real problem is strictly the cost of replacement parts and labor.
The Cyborg Trucks are here-everyone needs to get use to it.